Can sustainability be profitable?

The short answer is yes. There are plenty of examples of businesses that have benefitted society, their business, and their investors. Of course, no company can be perfect since there are trade-offs involved in decision-making. But if you think about it, reducing energy and water wastage, adopting technologies to boost productivity, investing in product innovation to improve customer well-being, making workplaces feel safe and positive, having a leadership board that practices servant leadership, and encouraging good workplace habits are all recipes for success. These intangible aspects are often overlooked when we speak about a company’s success. The emphasis usually is on finance because it’s easier to come to a conclusion with numbers. Qualitative reasoning aside, there are decent examples of how companies have achieved profitability by seeing sustainability as a core business strategy. One example is of Sekem, an Egyptian company built on the values of ecology. Started in 1977 by Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, Sekem proved to the world that sustainable agriculture is possible even in a desert, and continues to uphold its values and commitment to sustainable development. Not just that, Sekem is profitable and reinvests all of its profits into employee training, expanding its business, and supporting sustainable development activities. There is no expectation for every company to follow this route. But this is a good example to show that applying ESG principles in the right manner with the right intention backed up by a strong business foundation can yield good results for humanity, nature, and the economy, since they’re all interdependent on each other.